The use of alarms to wake people has long been known to the prior art. These alarms come in a variety of forms but often comprise a time keeping device with an integrated sound device. At a predetermined time, the time device is configured to trigger the sound device which provides sufficient sound for waking a person from sleep. Along these lines, a number of variations have been developed to give users additional options. First, these devices have been evolved and integrated into numerous forms. Often, alarm devices can be found in bedside machines, radios, stereos, wrist watches, cell phones, computers, PDAs, mp3 players, computer programs, and various other hardware and software embodiments. Second, the option of “snoozing” is often incorporated into alarm devices. Via snoozing a user may delay waking by hitting a button to stop the sound device and trigger it for a later time (typically 9 minutes later). Third, some alarm devices with incorporated radios or stereos have a “sleep” option that lets a user fall to sleep for a set amount of time to music or sounds. Additionally, a user may often set such devices to wake a user to music or sounds as well.
It is also known in the prior art that human sleep typically follows an iterative cycle usually lasting 70-90 minutes per iteration. Additionally, it is known that if a person is woken at different stages during this sleep cycle they will have different levels of comfort and restored physical rehabilitation. Typically, a person wakes most easily, comfortably, and refreshed at the end of a full 70-90 minute sleep cycle. Furthermore, it is known in the prior art that body variables like a person's body temperature, movement, breathing rate, eye movement, and heart rate vary during these sleeping cycles and that this information can be used to determine what stage of the sleep cycle a person is in.
Accordingly, an alarm device that wakes a person during the best time in his or her sleep cycle is desirable. Additionally, an alarm clock that uses body variables to determine when is best to wake a person is further desirable.